Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hiatus

I am on a hiatus April and May- well was supposed to be, but with a surprise appearance in the April Tempting Tarts show: Broadway Tarts, and a debut performance at Norwescon 34- April wasn't a true hiatus.

May is though, promise.

I'm working on new acts for June and July as well as a new Monster or two to add to my list of monster themed acts- these will most likely be debuted in October of course.

And I'm working on a very special, very big project for November. One that I have tried to get off the ground for quite some time now but circumstances keep having me push it back. Not this time!! I'm going to do it!!!

You can still see me working at the door this month at the Tempting Tarts May show.
Friday the 13th is our Fears and Obsessions show. Come out and support my sisters, don't forget to say hello to me... and buy me a drink ;) ;)


Thursday, April 14, 2011

Monkeys Were Everywhere!

A long, long overdue blog update, I know!!



Two months ago, I had the wonderful adventure of going to Costa Rica. It was more amazing than I could have imagined. I was expecting sticky, hot, unbearable weather; giant bugs everywhere I turned, and poisonous creatures with every step.

I was pleasantly surprised with warm semi-tropical weather. More like my trips to Hawaii or Guam, actually more bearable than my past trips to Louisiana mid-summer. I hardly saw a single insect- although when I did, they were GIANT! And I over prepared for sun-burn and bug bites, which means I didn't get either one! Granted, I was in the North-Western corner of the counrty which is a Tropical-Dry Forest, not the actual Rainforest. I can only imagine that the Rainforest was pretty much exactly how I imagined my trip was going to be like. Still, I will still be making a visit to the Real Rainforest sometime in my future.

Wildlife, though, was beyond my imagination capabilities. Since I was going to a pretty exclusive resort, I figured I'd see a monkey at least once and probably some kinds of lizards- like geckos. My family being from the Pacific Islands, I figured it would be similar.
Monkeys in Costa Rica are like the rabbits and deer here in spring time... They are everywhere!

And these little guys Coati... cousins to the Racoon, similar in size, but much cuter!


At first, the monkeys were not to fond of the new humans that were visiting the house near their trees they played in every afternoon. They yelled at us for quite sometime.


Finally we realized it wasn't the fact that we were strangers that they were upset about, it was the fact that they now had to share the pool with the strangers.



And so this happened every afternoon. We would swim in our pool until the White-Faced Monkeys decided it was their turn. This would result in a lot of screaming and throwing things (the monkeys at us, not us at the monkeys). We also had to be sure that we took all of our food and personal belongings off of the deck before going inside, or else they would become monkey property.

Right from the very first day, I made it my goal to make these monkeys my friends.



On our second full day, we were able to go on a river cruise in Palo Verde National Park
It was a beautiful way to spend a day, we saw so many Crocodiles, up soooo close!! Lots and lots of Iguana's of all sizes, and a few Jesus Christ Lizards (they walk on water)... and of course we came across a family of playful Capuchin Monkeys here as well.


We were fed a delicious traditional Costa Rican lunch, this is where I fell in love with Lizano Sauce... yummy.


The next day was our tradition of zip-lining! We did it in Mexico and have decided that every trip that we take and there is zip-lining available- we will do it!
It's one of my favorite things to do! This time was different because one of the trees we were perched up in also hosted a family of Howler Monkeys getting some sun!


Our last big adventure was a day-cruise that included snorkeling and a private BBQ on a white sand beach. I get crazy motion sickness so I'm very picky about not going on boats unless the trek is worthy- and this was more than worthy!


We weren't even on the boat 10 minutes when we were surrounded by Dolphins! They followed and played with us for quite a while, until we slowed down to almost a stop when we found a family of Sea Turtles swimming past (those were hard to get pictures of, they disappeared into the waves pretty quickly)



Even out on our sea adventure, monkeys were there.
This was called Monkey Head Rock.



After snorkeling (quite a feat for a lady who has a huge phobia of the ocean and fish!)
We were whisked back to the boat to find our white sand beach.
This was the only time I was freezing on this trip.


Once on our white sand beach we had a BBQ all set up and waiting for us, a table laid our under a low branched tree on the beach over looking the crystal blue waters. I could have stayed there forever. Really.

Then I looked up.
On the branches right above us sat a mama Howler Monkey and her 4 day old baby!!
That was it for me, I was moving to Costa Rica.



It was a wonderful day, filled with many memories- even though I did get a bit sea-sick on my way back to our resort- I was so happy I took the risk!


The rest of our time there we spent by the pool and on the beach, just relaxing and playing. I took peaceful walks on the beach each sunset and ate wonderful food and drinks each day as well (the most important part of a vacation for me- I'm such a foodie!)






Everyday, I worked at getting the monkeys to like me, lying on the floor by the window as still and quiet as I could be, trying to pique their curiosity. Everyday it didn't seem to work any better than the day before.



Until the last day.
It was like the monkeys had been teasing me all week, and now that they knew that I was leaving, they would be my friend. The staircase in our house was a large spiral one, with large windows two stories high on one side, from the top of the stairs you could look out on the pool. As I climbed to the top I noticed one particular monkey I had been the closest to getting used to me, and had named George, sitting on the deck railing. I froze, and almost on cue, George turned around to look at me. Excited, George jumped off the railing and came running to the window. He put his hand against the glass and allowed me to come right up to the other side and place my hand against the glass. There we stood, staring at each other- saying our goodbyes.


They now even let us come outside, they kept a bit of distance, but with a few banana treats, they didn't scream or throw anything at us once!





The monkeys and our last sunset really ended the trip in the most perfect way I could have imagined. Costa Rica- I will most definitely be back someday.

And I will find my friend, George again.